Prof Patrick Roche

Abstract:

I present recent spectroscopic observations of nearby AGN obtained at 8-13 mu m with TReCS on Gemini-S. The observations reveal variations in absorption depth on subarcsecond scales in Circinus and NGC 5506 and delineate the regions of ionized gas and PAH emission region in Circinus. Several nearby active galaxies show evidence of resolved circumnuclear dusty structures with sizes of 10s of parsecs. The silicate absorption profile towards the most heavily obscured nuclei are narrower than those in the galaxies with tau((9.7 mu m)) < 3, possibly reflecting larger average grain sizes in the latter resulting from destruction of the smallest grains by the AGN.

Abstract:

Aliphatic hydrocarbons exhibit an absorption feature at 3.4 μm, observed toward sources that sample diffuse regions of the interstellar medium (ISM). The absorbers responsible for this feature are assumed to reside in some component of interstellar dust, but the physical nature of the particles (size, shape, structure, etc.) is uncertain. Observations of interstellar polarization provide discrimination. Since the grains that carry the silicate absorption feature are known to be aligned, polarization across the 3.4 μm hydrocarbon feature can be used to test the silicate-core organic refractory mantle grain theory. Although the 3.4 μm feature has been observed to be devoid of polarization for one line of sight toward the Galactic center, a corresponding silicate polarization measurement for the same line of sight was not available. Here, we present spectropolarimetric observations of GCS 3-11 and GCS 3-IV toward the Galactic center, where the 9.7 μm silicate polarization has been previously observed. We show that polarization is not detected across the 3.4 μm feature to a limit of 0.06% ± 0.13% (GCS 3-II) and 0.15% ± 0.31% (GCS 3-IV), well below the lowest available prediction of polarization on the basis of the core-mantle model. We conclude that the hydrocarbons in the diffuse ISM do not reside on the same grains as the silicates, and likely form a separate population of small grains. © 2006. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

Abstract:

We report the results of near infrared spectroscopy of 11 luminosity-selected candidate planetary mass objects (PMOs) in the Trapezium Cluster with Gemini South/Gemini Near-Infrared Spectrograph and Gemini North/Near-Infrared Imager. Six have spectral types ≥M9, in agreement with expectations for PMOs. Two have slightly earlier types, and three are much earlier types which are probably field stars. Four of the six sources with types ≥M9 have pseudo-continuum profiles which confirm them as low gravity cluster members. The gravity status of the other cool dwarfs is less clear but these remain candidate PMOs. The derived number fraction of PMOs with M = 3 - 15 MJup is 1-14 per cent, these broad limits reflecting the uncertainty in source ages. However, the number fraction with M < 20 MJup is at least 5 per cent. These detections add significantly to the body of evidence that a planetary mass population is produced by the star formation process. © 2006 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2006 RAS.